(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shipping containers for delicate coiled materials and, more particularly, to such a container and a method for protecting a fiber optic coil during shipping and subsequently effecting its removal and placement in the mounting apparatus therefor.
(2) Statement of Prior Art
Fiber optics are now widely employed in many applications for the transmission of signals over long distances without substantial impairment of the quality of the signal. As a result, it is customary to produce the fiber optic cable in extended lengths of thousands of feet in order to minimize splices and their potential for interference with the quality of the signal being transmitted. Generally, the winding machines employed for coiling the fiber optic cable utilize a mandrel with winding flanges between which the cable is wound.
For obvious reasons, it is desirable to minimize any human or other contact with the cable which might transfer contaminants to the surface or which might otherwise adversely affect the cable. Similarly, it is extremely desirable to provide a shipping container for the coils which will protect the relatively fragile fiber optic cable from damage during the normal impacts which the shipping container may receive.
Because many coils do not employ flanges on the ends of the reel, it is extremely desirable to ensure that the axial ends of the coil are not subject to any forces which might damage or dislodge turns of the cable about the coil and this is also true during the installation of the coil on the payout device which will be used to feed the fiber optic cable from the coil for use.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel shipping container for fiber optic coils and the like which minimizes the potential for human contact with the coil during placement into the container and protects the coil from impacts occurring during shipment.
It is also an object to provide such a shipping container which may be fabricated and assembled readily and which may also be disassembled readily upon reaching the point of installation for the coil.
Another object is to provide a novel method for enclosing a fiber optic coil in a protective container for shipment without the necessity for touching the coil during such process of packaging, and thereafter for removing the coil from the container at the mounting location, again without touching the coil itself.